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Influence of land-use/land-cover change on landscape connectivity for an endemic threatened amphibian (Argenteohyla siemersi pederseni, Anura: Hylidae)

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Abstract

Context

Modifications in natural landcover generally result in a loss of habitat availability for wildlife and it’s persistence will depend largely on their spatial configuration and functional connections. Argenteohyla siemersi is a threatened and endemic amphibian whose habitat is composed of forest patches near rivers and water bodies edges.

Objectives

This study aimed to analyse the accessible habitat for this species and identify key elements to maintain its ecological network in two different types of land uses: an anthropized area with extensive cattle raising and a protected area.

Methods

The structural and functional characteristics of both landscapes were analyzed. The connectivity at landscape level and the contribution of each habitat patch were evaluated through simulation models with different dispersion distances in the context of the graph theory.

Results

In both landscapes, nine types of landcover were identified with different compositions. Remarkable differences were found in habitat connectivity for this amphibian species between both landscapes. As the percentage of dispersion distance increases, reachable habitat increases as well, although with higher percentages in the protected area. Two corridors were identified in the protected landscape and one in the rangeland one; patches and key links constituted all of them.

Conclusions

The present work provides spatially explicit results with a quantitative basis. It could be useful as a tool for the development of management plans aimed at guaranteeing the functionality of the ecological network for this endangered species and, therefore, contribute to its long-term conservation.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina) and the European Union project CLARIS-LPB (Europe-South America Network for Climate Change Assessment and Impact Studies in La Plata Basin). We acknowledge the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS, https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/) for facilitating satellite images through its EarthExplorer portal. To the teaching mobility program of the Ministerio de Educación for financing my training stay at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Diego Aquino for his help with image classifications. To the International Union for Conservation of Nature that, through the Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN, https://www.iucnredlist.org/), freely provides bibliographic information and the spatial distribution of thousands of species. We also thank the anonymous reviewers of the draft version of the manuscript for their constructive criticism.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental (IIIA), CONICET-UNSAM, Campus Miguelete, 25 de Mayo y Francia (1650), San Martín, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Facundo Schivo & Rubén Darío Quintana

  2. Ecología y Gestión Forestal Sostenible, E.T.S.I. Montes, Forestal y Medio Natural, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    María Cruz Mateo-Sánchez

  3. Fundación de Historia Natural Félix de Azara - Departamento de Ciencias Naturales y Antropológicas, CEBBAD - Universidad Maimónides, Hidalgo 775, Piso 7 (1405), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Valeria Bauni

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  1. Facundo Schivo
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  2. María Cruz Mateo-Sánchez
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  3. Valeria Bauni
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  4. Rubén Darío Quintana
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Correspondence to Facundo Schivo.

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Schivo, F., Mateo-Sánchez, M.C., Bauni, V. et al. Influence of land-use/land-cover change on landscape connectivity for an endemic threatened amphibian (Argenteohyla siemersi pederseni, Anura: Hylidae). Landscape Ecol 35, 1481–1494 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-01031-7

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